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WSJ News Exclusive | U.S. Tells Saudi Arabia Oil Attacks Were Launched From Iran
Dion Nissenbaum in Beirut and Summer Said in Dubai
5-6 minutes
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been in touch with leaders in the Middle East to discuss the situation. Photo: Michael Conroy/Associated Press
Updated Sept. 16, 2019 10:37 am ET
American officials say intelligence indicates that Iran was the staging ground for a debilitating attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, and have shared the information with Saudi Arabia as both countries weigh retaliatory strikes, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The Trump administration told the Iraqi government this weekend that its country wasn’t used to launch
Saturday’s attack, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials. The U.S. has already
dismissed a claim by Houthi militants that they sent 10 drones to attack the Saudi oil sites, which crippled the kingdom’s petroleum industry and sent
energy markets into a tailspin.
That conclusion, which the U.S. has yet to make publicly, comes as President Trump raises the prospect of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia joining forces to launch a retaliatory strike on Iran. Such a move could quickly broaden into a regional conflict.
President Trump warned on Sunday that the U.S. was “locked and loaded,” and prepared to strike when America and Saudi Arabia identified who was responsible.
“There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. “But are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!”
Saudi and American officials said the Saturday attack on two sites in Saudi Arabia used cruise missiles that hit 19 targets. Saudi Arabia is struggling to repair the damage.
Before strike, left. After strike, right, where a satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. shows black smoke rising from Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq oil processing facility after it was hit. Photo: Planet Labs via Associated Press
In its first assessment of the weekend attacks, the Saudi-led coalition leading the fight in Yemen said that the strikes didn’t come from Houthi forces as they claimed, and that the weapons used to hit the kingdom were Iranian.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been calling regional leaders to discuss the situation, and was expected to speak on Monday with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates.
On Monday, Mr. Trump tweeted a reminder of Iran’s behavior when it shot down a U.S. drone in June, a strike that led the U.S. to prepare a military strike against Iran. Mr. Trump called off the strike after having second thoughts.
“Remember when Iran shot down a drone, saying knowingly that it was in their ‘airspace’ when, in fact, it was nowhere close,” he said. “They stuck strongly to that story knowing that it was a very big lie. Now they say they had nothing to do with the attack on Saudi Arabia. We’ll see?”
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Saudi Oil Attacks to Be Felt From California to China
The strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure have led to a production shutdown on a scale the world hasn’t seen for decades. It could have long-lasting consequences for global markets and politics. Photo: Reuters
—Isabel Coles in Beirut contributed to this article.
Write to Dion Nissenbaum at
dion.nissenbaum@wsj.com and Summer Said at
summer.said@wsj.com
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